The Art of Flattery
by DMarEssence
Summary: What if the famous Suou Tamaki fell in love with a girl he'd never even met? Although Nanami's family forbids her from loving, she falls into an unexpected relationship with the last person on earth she expected to: the flirtatious Host King! Tamaki/OC.
1. Chapter 1

OMG, why can't I do a freakin' oneshot? I suck at life! Anyways, I love the Japanese voice actor for Tamaki! He's also the voice of Light in Death Note and of Kiba from Wolf's Rain... so smexy.

Nanami sat quietly in the safety of the fourth music room, her hands fluidly and gracefully soaring over the keys in a manner that would even rival that of Chopin... that is until a loud ruckus in the room next door forced her away from the ivory keys of her ancient Steinway piano. Rising from the bench, Nanami pulled her golden hair back up into a twisted bun (she wore it down only when playing, and in private) and rolled down the heavy key cover. Closing the lid that protected the heart of the piano so dust wouldn't collect on the strings, Nanami tip-toed out of the sanctuary of the fourth music room and peeked inside the room next door only to come face to face with her worst fear.

The Ouran High School Host Club.

"Haruhi! Why aren't you excited about the Sakura festival?" came the loud, unanimous banter of the red headed Hitachiin twins, Kaoru and Hikaru.

"It just seems a little frivolous-" Haruhi stopped mid-sentence as she caught the unwanted blue stare of Nanami impeding on her form the doorway. Although Haruhi wore a male student uniform and hid in the testosterone sanctity of the Host Club (so no one would suspect her gender), Nanami found herself, nonetheless being enraptured by the situation within the room. It was a well known school tradition that the Host Club went all out at the end of the year, but it was simply... ethereal the way the decorations and ambiance were tweaked to the utmost subtle class. Unfortunately, she was caught staring.

"Haruhi, I'm sure I've told you time and time again that the preparations for the festival are to be an absolute secret!" The man in charge of the operation, Suou Tamaki, the utterly insufferable and undeniably charming upperclassmen strode into view to reprimand Haruhi, who had no idea what he was talking about.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Haruhi stated flatly, before her brown eyes perked up at his implication.

"If you don't know what I'm talking about, then why is your adorable friend waiting at the door?" Tamaki continued, tossing his meticulous blonde hair out of his eyes before casting a suave smile in Nanami's confused direction. Tamaki's obtrusive voice however, had carried through the Host Club, catching the attention of the other five members.

"I don't believe she's even been on our guest list, m'lord," the studious and mysterious Ootori Kyouya stated matter-of-factly as he pushed his thin framed glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose. Tamaki cursed the gods briefly before declaring even more boisterously:

"If only it had been another day! Then I would've invited you in with all the commodities and antiquities that a good host should always give to a visiting lady!" By this time, Nanami had realized she'd been spotted and fled back to her fourth music room where no one ever bothered to enter. There she was safe: no scrutiny, no ridicule... just her and her piano.

The next day at school, Nanami found herself in the fourth music room, sight reading a new piece by Bach, _Legato_ in G minor. Very soothing, also very gloomy. Nanami continued to hear the clatter and clang of various celebration mishaps next door, although she never once allowed herself to return for a gander. However, she was startled one day when she heard the opening of the door as she sat behind the keys. Haruhi, the girl from the Host Club waved anxiously at the girl behind the piano before waltzing over without an invitation. Nanami sat frozen behind the bench before Haruhi spoke.

"I heard you playing as I went past. It sounded really good," she trailed off, looking at Nanami and judging her reaction.

"Thanks. Look, I'm sorry about the other day! I didn't mean to spy or anything-"

"No problem! Those guys over there are a little harsh about that kind of stuff anyway." The brown haired girl ghosted her fingers over the gleaming white finish on the piano before sighing.

"How come I don't see you around school too much..."

"I'm Nanami... and I guess I just... I don't really know. I go to class, and then I come here. What year are you Haruhi?"

"First, and you?"

"Second."

"Mm, just like Tamaki and Kyouya-sempai," Haruhi thought briskly before nodding as if to acknowledge their meeting.

"I hope to see you around Nanami!" the brunette smiled before leaving the blonde girl in an awkward silence with her music.

Strolling down the hall toward her fourth music room on a Friday afternoon, Nanami heard none of the normal boisterousness from the room next door. Deciding to chance it, Nanami gingerly opened the door to find the Host Room all but abandoned. The decorations for the Sakura festival were prepped to be hung in the courtyard, but the host club itself was absent. The large back double doors, leading to the veranda, however, swung open freely and led into the hedge maze that encased the 100 acre back yard of the school. Nanami didn't know quite what came over her as she entered the maze unwittingly becoming enraptured in the tall green hedges that hid the other pathways from views. _I've never done anything like this before! I only hope I can get out of here before it's dark!_ the blonde girl fretted as she dashed down the long corridor-like pathways that winded and crossed until she came to a gazebo in the center. Roses hung wistfully from the roof and tangled down the posts that held up the wooden structure.

All the running it'd taken for Nanami to arrive at this place had left her feeling relieved of stress and almost... happy. She'd never felt quite so... _happy_ in her life. Sitting down on the bench under the rose-shaded roof, Nanami felt strangely at peace. _It almost feels like playing the piano,_ Nanami sighed as she rested her head on a wooden post, resting from her exertion through the maze. Soon after she had stopped to rest, Nanami perked up at the sound of someone running toward her. Suddenly, a figure was standing at the entrance to the gazebo. She was no longer alone. Cowering in her social shyness, Nanami scooted over so that the other side was left open for the stranger, though on closer inspection, he wasn't a stranger at all.

Panting unabashedly, Suou Tamaki flopped unceremoniously down onto the bench beside the confused and ignored blonde girl, who merely blinked her blue eyes while awaiting to be acknowledged. After a moment, when the host leader had caught his breath, he realized that the girl from a few days ago sat beside him under a set of most unusual circumstances. In the blink of an eye, the blonde host had regained all of his hostly composure before plucking a rose and extending it in a gesture of flattery to the surprised girl.

"We hardly met under the right circumstances so many days ago. I am Suou Tamaki, co-founder of the host club. Who might you be?" Tamaki's blue eyes glazed over with his unparalleled mastery of charm as he lifted Nanami's limp hand to his lips for a gentle kiss. A blush crept across Nanami's face before she responded shakily:

"Nanami."

"A glorious name for a glorious creature," Tamaki continued, releasing Nanami's hand before straightening his posture.

"Do you come here often?" Tamaki offered, acknowledging the girl's strained behavior and giving her a simply chance at conversation.

"Um, no, actually. I was just well, I was curious as to why no one was at the Host club so I stopped over because I didn't hear anyone and-"

"So you _did_ come for a visit! How gracious of you," Tamaki gushed. Nanami now realized there'd been a reason she'd avoided contact with the Host Club. If they were all as relentless at achieving the affections of the girls at school, then she would absolutely loathe a visit to their club. _They're all self-absorbed,_ Nanami reminded herself before she became too enveloped in Tamaki's undeniably good looks and charismatic personality. _Accept Haruhi. She seems nice._ After a few more moments conversation, Nanami could hardly believe herself. She was upholding an actual face to face chat with someone-a boy she didn't know, and she was enjoying it! _Must be the evil enchantment of the host club. That's how they capture unsuspecting victims like myself._ Even after this realization, Nanami remained in the gazebo with Tamaki. She couldn't help herself. He was offering his company, and she was accepting it; that's all there was to it.

"Perhaps we should head back to the school. It's getting dark," Tamaki suggested, getting to his feet and once again offering his hand to the girl beside him. Again, she accepted. _What is the matter with me?_ Nanami scolded herself for being so obliged to this complete and somewhat annoying stranger. She suddenly choked at the implications. _You have a crush on Tamaki! THE Suou Tamaki!_ Her inner mind was having a heart attack and laughing at the same time.

_I've never had a crush before,_ Nanami realized, as she held hands with Tamaki through the darkening maze. Each time he turned around to reassure her that they would find their way out, Nanami's blushed deepened. Tamaki's long slender fingers were laced with her small, petite ones, perfect for hitting a fifth scale on the Steinway. G-minor was her favorite key...

"Oh!" Nanami recalled suddenly, pulling her hand from Tamaki's grasp and looking guiltily up at the twilight sky.

"What is it Nanami-chan?"

The endearment struck the blonde girl and she hastily tried to hide another blush. _A nickname... like we're already friends._ Nanami sighed. Ever since she'd dedicated herself to the piano all those years ago, she'd lost the ability to have friends. Her parents wouldn't allow social activities until she was a worldly and accomplished pianist.

"It's just that I forgot my sheet music in the school! If I don't get it by tomorrow, my parents will kill me!" After realizing what she'd just said, Nanami covered her mouth with her hands. No one needed to know about her personal life, least of all this flirtatious boy! And now, knowing she played an instrument, he could find her. There were only four music rooms; two used by the band, one used by the Host Club, and that left the fourth one open... If he discovered her though, would it really be a bad thing? Nanami smacked herself again for succumbing to the Host lord's charm.

"I know how that feels," Tamaki smiled over his shoulder continuing to lead the way to who knows where in the maze.

"Y-you do?" Nanami nearly stopped dead in her tracks. How could this care-free play boy have any idea of the kind of pressure she was under from her parents?

"Yes. I used to play the piano diligently. But now my father would rather have me work on managing the family business," Tamaki sighed wistfully.

"And what does your mother think of your music?" Nanami pried further; knowing full well it wasn't her place, but asking anyway. She was just so astonished that this flamboyant second year that she'd never acknowledged until last week and today actually shared something in common with her.

"In truth, I don't know what my mother thinks. We've been separated quite some time," Tamaki replied. A slight silence followed in which neither blonde could fill with words.

By the time they reached the school, the doors were locked and the sky was the color of midnight with a thousand stars glittering above. After realizing the school was closed for good, Nanami conceded to the fact that punishment awaited her at home. She sighed.

"Won't the host club be worried that you've been gone for so long?" the girl quizzed, seeing as how pretty much the entire campus had vacated. Nanami had momentarily given up on grieving her own problems, and acknowledged her empathetic nature that burned within her; filled with worry for other people.

"They mostly let me worry about me," Tamaki responded, turning back towards Nanami.

"And your family? What would they think of you being out this late?" Her parents never worried about her. As long as she showed up for piano lessons, they never questioned her whereabouts.

"Oh, they won't be a problem..." Nanami trailed off, wondering how best to end their meeting.

"I suppose I'll see you around?" the girl offered turning away from her companion and heading towards the road. Tamaki however, interrupted her getaway.

"It would simply be unfitting of me to leave you to get home yourself! I shall personally see you home," the blonde declared, summoning Nanami with him towards his limo which had been waiting outside since the end of the school day. She felt, once again, obligated to go with him. _He is a host after all! He won't do anything inappropriate,_ Nanami reasoned with herself as she rode in the comfortable back seat of Tamaki's limousine, feeling slightly guilty that she was causing this imposition.

"Why, this isn't an imposition at all! Simply a man doing his duty to help out a kind and beautiful lady, such as yourself."

_Flattery. Again. And you're falling for it. Again._ The rest of the ride was silent as the limo rolled into Nanami's driveway and she proceeded from the vehicle.

"Now, now Nanami-chan. It would only be polite for me to walk you to the door, since we have come so far together." Nanami became quite startled by this revelation, but didn't protest. At the steps, the valiant Tamaki merely bid the girl adieu and flitted away into the night. Nanami, after the loss of the contact, sighed. She'd never been with one single person that long since she was a child. _I hope I get to see him again,_ Nanami fantasized before she entered her house.

Going to bed that night, Nanami once again realized she was without her sheet music. She'd never hear the end of it from her parents, and that was what she dreaded most of all; the look of disappointment in their eyes when she showed up empty handed to her music lesson. With this thought floating in her head, the girl was troubled into an unfitful sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Nanami awoke the next morning to the sound of a doorbell. _Odd, normally no one visits my house this early... and not on a Saturday!_ Nanami tiptoed downstairs in her dressing gown to see if she could catch a glimpse of the visitor. She was astonished when her eyes met with the same smiling blue ones that had spent the better part of an afternoon with her yesterday.

"Suou-san! Please come inside. We're so glad you stopped by," Nanami's mother praised the host lord as he entered their premises. "So, what brings you out here Suou-san?"

"Oh, I'm just bringing back Nanami-chan's sheet music. She lent it to me yesterday you see, but I forgot to return it."

"Oh, Nanami is _so _careless! I'm sorry you had to spend so much trouble-"

"No trouble at all. Is Nanami-chan here this morning?" Tamaki's eyes gazed around the vast and elaborate interior of Nanami's voluminous home. Smaller than his own mansion, but still quite large. After a few moments, Nanami was discovered on the stairs and she gently padded down the second flight with apprehension. _Why is Tamaki-san taking such an interest in me? He didn't have to return my music... yet he did._

Nanami's mother left the two teenagers alone forcing the girl to struggle alone in the uncomfortable silence.

"How did you-" Nanami began, but Tamaki held up his hand.

"My father is the owner and chief of administrations at Ouran High School. I used a favor to sneak in this morning so you wouldn't get in trouble," Tamaki relayed, basking silently in his own good will. Nanami smiled at his self-confidence.

"Thank you... it's just I'm not used to people going out of their way for me-"

"Surely they would if they realized what a pure and glorious creature you were?" Tamaki offered, urging a smile on Nanami's tight lips.

"Well," the girl continued somewhat self conscious as she wrapped her cream colored silk robe tighter around her petite body. "I guess I'll see you at school on Monday," she trailed off, knowing full well that she wouldn't see Suou Tamaki unless she sought him out in the one place she dared not go... the Host Club. Tamaki, picking up on her discomfort, came to a sudden realization.

"Perhaps you'd take a visit to the courtyard during the Sakura festival at school. I'm sure you'd be impressed, and although you've avoided the company of the hosts with all your might, surely you can appreciate, if not for an hour or two, the hard work and dedication we've supplied in the decorations." Once again, the persistence in Tamaki's humanity surprised Nanami. _Since when do I get invited to parties?_ A sudden flutter of apprehensiveness crawled into Nanami's already weak stomach, but the wings soon turned to ice when she realized she'd be at piano practice most of the day.

"I'm so sorry, but I've got piano-"

"Surely afterwards-"

"It's a long practice-"

"Then a private tour perhaps? On Sunday? Your piano teacher has to sleep sometime!" Tamaki declared loudly through the halls of Nanami's home. The strength and determination in Tamaki's voice surprised but also flattered the girl. _Is this what being social feels like?_ Nanami thought bashfully. Being secluded and forced to become a piano savant was hardly her idea of a good time. She'd much rather hang out with other people... people like Tamaki.

"Alright, Sunday then," Tamaki answered for the stunned girl, who appeared speechless to his invitation. Nanami only nodded as Tamaki grasped her hand unexpectedly in his and graced the top of it with a tender kiss in parting. As quickly as he came, Suou Tamaki, the king of hosts, was gone with a flourish.

"Tamaki-kun is certainly a nice enough boy, but please be practical darling."

Nanami sat across from her mother that morning at breakfast, picking at her crepes as her mother tsked at Tamaki's sudden appearance.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nanami grumbled, twisting a piece of her tucking a wisp of long blonde hair up into its normal bun.

"Come now, dearest. Relations with a flirtatious boy like Tamaki would simply ruin your career! Your mind would wander, your practice time would decrease rapidly-"

"I don't have _relations_ with him, mother. He was just being nice, that's all," Nanami spoke up a bit louder, but continued to stare blankly at her food.

"Sweet heart, I just don't want you to get hurt! We know about Tamaki's activities at school... he has a bit of a reputation, and I don't think someone like you could-"

"Mother!"

"Just because you've taken an interest in Suou Tamaki, doesn't mean he's taken an interest in you." Nanami bit her tongue uncharacteristically and bowed her head. Why was her mother treating her like this? She had barely met Tamaki last week, and her mother could practically see the heart break!

"May I be excused?" Nanami snapped unintentionally, rising from the table without a response. She arrived at her piano lesson slightly bitter, only to be notified that her usually callous and untactful teacher had caught pneumonia and would be out for quite some time, or course, her parents, not accepting defeat, had hired a surrogate for the time being. When the teacher who was filling in arrived, Nanami was startled as she sat behind her piano wearing a plain pink satin and lace skirt with a white cashmere sweater, her hair up in its ritualistic bun.

"You must be Nanami. I'm Kazuya." Nanami found her blue eyes glued to the new teacher. The complete opposite of her old teacher, Kazuya had honey brown eyes that promised to melt her soul; wavy black hair that fell in short ripples down to his shoulders. His taste in simple clothes was quaint and impeccable all at the same time, and for some reason, Nanami was enraptured by his appearance.

"Yes, I'm Nanami," the blonde girl stuttered out, placing her fingers gently on the ivory keys and placing the piece by Bach in front of her on the stand. Startlingly, she messed up every single note the first and second time through it. Her rhythms were atrocious and her finger position was shady at best.

"This piece isn't driving you, I can tell," Kazuya began, picking up Nanami's delicate hands and laying the fingers out in a five finger G minor to start the piece off. Nanami felt a warm tingle race up her spine. _It must be all that time I was with Tamaki. It's made me scandalous!_ Nanami thought reproachfully, calming herself before the end of the lesson.

"It was a pleasure having you as my student today Nanami-san. I will see you later this week, and make sure you watch the key change on page three." With that, the entrancing Kazuya was gone, leaving Nanami with a flurry of blushing emotions.

The next morning, Nanami received another house call from the one and only Tamaki. He was waiting at the door when the blonde girl descended the stairs and offered her a rose from behind his back. _More flattery..._ inner Nanami noticed, accepting the flower and tucking it into her bun as they entered Tamaki's limo. When the two teenagers arrived at the school, Nanami's breathe was taken away by the sight. Sakura trees were spotted the courtyard, but this time, they were filled with blossoms that scattered in the breeze and left the wind tinged pink with the smell of the petals.

"Oh my Tamaki! It's beautiful!" Nanami breathed, spinning in the courtyard and allowing the ethereal scene to envelope her. However, it wasn't long before Nanami acknowledged the true reason behind the event.

"Was this scene very successful with your customers?" the girl asked, curiosity and bitterness intertwining with her sweet, shy tone.

"It always is," Tamaki smiled, taking up Nanami's hand and helping her to continue her rotation. She felt like a ballerina amidst a gorgeous set in a play. With Tamaki opposite her, she could do no wrong. But it always came back at inconvenient moments; that fleeting thought that this was all a show... for the Host Club customers. Nanami's mood of unparalleled ecstasy turned to one of melancholy.

"_Just because you've taken an interest in Suou Tamaki, doesn't mean he's taken an interest in you..."_

_Than why is he being so nice to me?_ Nanami paused before speaking out loud. Although she didn't really want to know the answer to the question, she asked it anyway.

"Why are you doing this?"

"What is it that you're referring to?" Tamaki asked, blinking his adorably blue eyes in the girl's direction. He seemed oblivious.

"All of this! First, you help me through the maze, then you bring my music back to me with no explanation, and now a private showing of the Host Club's most prestigious event! Why? Why me?" Nanami whispered intently, locking her own crystalline grey eyes with Tamaki's deep ocean colored ones. Tamaki let out a defeated sigh which ended, surprisingly in a smile. He motioned for the blonde girl to sit next to him on the stone bench that resided in the middle of the swirling sakura petals.

"For a while now, I've listened to your music from next door. I've wanted to meet its maker for so long... and here you are. You are my muse. I've created all this based on the emotions you gave me from your playing. Although I'd never seen you before, when I laid eyes on you in the maze, I knew it was you.

"From what you told me, from what I'd heard through the wall, I knew we were a lot alike. I realized that if you _were_ anything like me, than you feel an unsuppressed loneliness, even when surrounded by people, by friends, by family..."

A sickening pause halted the merriment of the flower petals around the two, and Nanami swallowed hard, taking in what he was saying. Suou Tamaki had had a crush on her before they even met. A blush burned the girl's face as she choked out:

"You have a host club full of girls. Why not one of them?" Tamaki seemed shocked at her implication.

"Surely people like us have to stick together! No one can understand the woe that begets our daily lives and separates us from others... No. It could only be you; the one I'd sought after since I first heard your music."

"Just the music?" Nanami asked, gulping softly as if she were afraid of a response. The seriousness in Tamaki's face only increased as he furrowed his brows.

"At first, yes. But now that I have a name and a face, I can see no one else."

Nanami's eyes widened at Tamaki's openness and she searched for the right words to say, but found none. The blonde Host king only accepted her silence. She didn't want to leave the conversation at that. She was desperate not to. He needed her to say something, so Nanami decided to speak honestly and truthfully from her heart.

"You said I wasn't like the other girls in the Host club... but that's not entirely true. I knew you were charming, and valiant, but also flirtatious, which made me wary of you. But I now feel guilty. I've fallen for you the same way all those others have, even though you so sweetly speak of me being your savior."

"I don't blame you, I am the founder of the Ouran High School Host Club," Tamaki smiled suavely, noting Nanami's relieved expression.

"You _are_ a master of flattery," the blonde girl added thoughtfully, feeling a great sense of freedom, as though some weight was just lifted off her shoulders. When Tamaki didn't respond to her accusation, she turned to look at Tamaki, who had slid significantly closer to the girl. Once more, they locked gazes, and Nanami only waited in silence.

Tamaki used one hand to gently pull Nanami's hair free of its bun, letting it flow in golden cascades past her shoulders. The rose fell simply into Nanami's lap. With the other hand, Tamaki extended his long pale fingers over Nanami's cheek, cupping it gently and pulling her mouth in his direction. Being a great deal shorter than the Host king, Nanami angled her head up and accepted the gentle kiss with finesse. The soft intimacy caused Nanami to close her eye lids and breathe in deeply before Tamaki gently pulled away. Moving the hand that had released Nanami's hair to her neck, Tamaki leaned in again, pressing his lips against the smaller girls, this time a bit more firmly. Nanami didn't refuse. Instead, she reached up and placed her hands on Tamaki's shoulders, resting them heavily for the duration of the kiss. Upon feeling the pressure of Nanami's small hands upon him, Tamaki acknowledged his wanton of the girl's lips. In the Host club, it was rare to find yourself kissing one of your customers, and Tamaki relished in the contact that was consented to by both parties. After parting briefly for another breath, Tamaki claimed Nanami's warm mouth with his own until the girl's face was flushed and her breathing unsteady. The blush of embarrassment that spread across her face was irresistibly adorable.

"I'm sorry if you felt-"

"No!" Nanami cried out, pulling her hands down to her lap and stroking the rose absent-mindedly. "I...I've just never k-kissed anyone before." Tamaki blinked disbelievingly.

"How was it?" he pried, removing the hand from her face, but allowing the other to stroke her hair.

"Oh... really nice," Nanami kicked herself at her choice of words and hoped Tamaki didn't take offense. He didn't. Instead, he did something unexpected.

"All the guests of the Host Club are invited to the Ootori private beach next weekend." Tamaki waited for a reaction, and Nanami urged him to continue.

"Would you come?" _He didn't say: "Would you LIKE to come?" he said, "Would you come!" How romantic! But what does that mean? I thought I wasn't a customer! I feel..._

"I'd like that." _You're such a sucker for flattery._

"It's settled then!" Tamaki declared, letting the tension that had built up from a moment before sidle away as he got to his feet and waited for Nanami at the exit of the courtyard.

"You're accepting my invitation has given me great vigor, however, it is time I took you home." Nanami only nodded and followed.

When the limousine pulled up to Nanami's house, she found herself in the same blushing state she did as when her and Tamaki were on that bench. Before he opened to door for her, he captured her lips in another gesture of affection. Nanami smiled as she watched him leave. Little did she know, another pair of eyes watched the scene from within the house.


	3. Chapter 3

"Nanami, you seem distracted again. Is something wrong?" Kazuya asked as Nanami played Beethoven's sixth symphony... the piano part at least.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kazuya-sensei, I-"

"Just Kazuya, please."

"If you say so." Nanami finished up the piece with a crescendo ritard at the end, lifting her foot off the damper pedal and playing the final chord.

"Exquisite, really Nanami-chan. If you don't mind, I think I'll recommend you for your next musical adjudication. That'll be in a few weeks." Before Kazuya had even ended his sentence, Nanami found herself pondering. _It doesn't sound as good coming from him,_ Nanami settled, remembering the way the 'chan' part of her name rolled of Tamaki's tongue like a well rehearsed ballad. Affectionate and sincere. It was different with Kazuya. He didn't have the right... to call her that. However, Nanami remained silent. He as right however, because Nanami WAS distracted by the prospect of next weekend where she would be with Tamaki and the Host Club for two days. She sighed. The week couldn't go by fast enough.

* * *

After the excitement of the weekend beach trip, Nanami felt drained. Drained and defeated. _Tamaki all but said he loved me! Well, I shouldn't have expected anything, I mean, Haruhi is his friend, but I thought we were friends too! Ugh, this is all so confusing!_ Nanami thought that day at school. While she practiced in the fourth music room, she pretended that Tamaki was listening, not from next door, but from the top of the grand piano; his long legs splayed out over the shiny white covering, his eyes watching her intently as she played a song only for his ears. Later, when she knew the Host Club was closing down for the day, Nanami cautiously made her way next door, listening for signs of life. When she was sure only Tamaki was left, she entered hastily, hoping no one had seen her.

She was unfortunately, wrong in her assumption, and Ootori Kyouya also resided in the room. Nanami blushed and waited for the two to finish their conversation before she stepped forward. She was caught before she could retreat, however, and Tamaki summoned her. Before the dark haired Host walked away (leaving Tamaki and Nanami to their own devices) he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and glanced backwards upon the scene curiously, jotting something down on his clipboard before closing the door to the third music room.

"What is it Nanami-chan?" Before speaking, Nanami wrung her hands in her skirt. She didn't know quite what she was asking. "Nanami-chan?" he asked again.

"Do you like Haruhi?" she asked loudly, hoping her courage would shine through in the height of her voice. It wavered however and made Nanami nervous, especially when Tamaki responded with silence.

"I adore her like the daughter she is to me-" Tamaki exclaimed, observing Nanami's expectant reaction.

"I see. But?" She asked painfully, knowing there was a catch.

"Nanami. You are certainly important to me, and Haruhi is too-"

"But?"

"I don't know."

Nanami blinked confusedly. How could Tamaki; the confident King of hosts not know what he was feeling?

"Oh." Nanami's voice quieted several degrees, though she wasn't really surprised. _He sees her and is with her every day. It's not surprising that he knows her and enjoys her company more than mine._ Nanami sighed dejectedly, before her inner mind slapped her... mentally. _Stop feeling sorry for yourself. He still cares for you deeply and just look at him! He feels bad about not knowing which of you he likes more! Just wait and see what happens._ After her mental pep-talk, Nanami picked her composure up and nodded at Tamaki.

"Well, thank you for inviting me on the trip Tamaki. I'll see you around," she twirled to face the door abruptly before sneaking through the crack that she left to make her escape, leaving Tamaki puzzled and emotionally jumbled in her wake.

Although Nanami felt significantly better after her confrontation with Tamaki, she still had the image from that one night burned into her brain. She couldn't escape it. And, she realized, she was being totally selfish and senseless. _He didn't DO anything with Haruhi! He was just comforting her because she was scared of the thunderstorm!_ Nanami sighed.

_No wonder I never had any friends before! Relationships are hard and confusing._

After the Sakura festival, the students of Ouran High School had mellowed out slightly in anticipation summer break. The customers of the Host Club were thinning out, and that, is when Nanami decided she would formally make her introductions to the Hosts. By the end of the week before the break, Nanami had worked up the courage to enter just as a gaggle of wide eyed first years exited the esteemed third music room. Nanami clenched her fists and opened the door carefully. Entering the hall officially was not something she expected, and the experience surprised her. All at once, four different hosts were upon her; the Hitachiin twins, the quiet, silent Mori-sempai, the adorable, cuddly Honey-sempai and last but not least, Haruhi hung anxiously in the background.

"Eh? My lord! Isn't this that girl who was spying on us?" the twins chorused, looking around for the Host king. Upon setting eyes on Nanami, Tamaki was startled.

"Nanami? To what do I owe this astounding pleasure?" he gasped, rushing towards her and escorting her away from the prying eyes of the other hosts.

"Can I talk to you alone, Tamaki-kun?" Nanami asked hastily as the other hosts implored the new guest for a few words.

"Hi Haruhi," Nanami waved before Tamaki led her to the back room where they disappeared for a few moments; the two blondes... together.

"Ah, glorious Nanami, I was wondering when I would get to see your face again-"

"Well, I know I said that I wouldn't visit the host club, but I came to bring you this," Nanami began, reaching into the folds of her dress and pulling out an engraved envelope. "My um, family is having a get together... and your family is invited. I thought I'd give it to instead of sending it in the mail." Tamaki's cheerful expression slid away for a moment.

"I thought maybe you'd be my escort," Nanami trailed off again, blinking her blue eyes curiously at Tamaki.

"No one else could escort you as surely as I!"

_I like this Tamaki better,_ Nanami noted silently before continuing her internal monologue. _Now that we're, um... friends I guess, I have to start being more tactful. He was so sad when I'd only invited his family to the party, but when I asked him personally, he cheered right up,_ the blonde girl observed smiling widely in response to Tamaki enthusiastic reaction.

"Well, good. It's next weekend, so don't be late."

Friday, after Nanami's piano rehearsal, the girl was picking up the last of her sheet music when a voice called out to her from behind.

"Nanami-chan!" _Again with the 'chan,'_ inner Nanami grumbled pausing to listen to what her teacher had to say.

"Have you found anyone to escort you to your parent's ball this Saturday?" There was a silence in the room before Nanami looked nervously around the walls of the large music hall.

"I-I'm sorry, but I'm already being accompanied by someone-" Kazuya seemed surprised, but quickly rebounded with a new question.

"But your parents assured me you weren't being courted, I mean, they've arranged for us to be wed-"

"Arranged? What're you talking about?" Without another word, Kazuya had simply bowed and left Nanami in her confusion.

"MOTHER!"

Nanami's voice rang through the large halls of their mansion before her mother looked at her with an accusing glare.

"Come now darling. Just because I didn't want you to see anyone at that odd school of yours doesn't mean I wasn't planning something for you! Now that your career is secured, we began to search for someone you could settle down with. Someone successful and-" Nanami burst out, interrupting her mother in an enraged frenzy.

"H-how could you do that? B-besides! I'm going with Tamaki-kun to the-"

"Just because we invited his family doesn't mean I'm allowing you to go with him." Her mother's pointed, controlling stare forced Nanami to avert her eyes ashamedly.

"Look at yourself dear. You practically threw yourself at the first man who was willing to give you attention! If Kazuya-kun had come along first-" by this point, Nanami's eyes were welling up with tears, however, she felt a strange empowering sensation flooding her. For the first time in her life, she didn't feel like being controlled or insulted by her mother.

"I want to go with Tamaki!" Nanami screamed, her unbridled anger fuming as her blue eyes contorted with pain.

"And I'm not going to marry anyone!"

_How could she do that to me?_ Nanami sobbed as she ran out of the dining hall where she'd confronted her mother and out the front door.

The one time Nanami needed friends, she didn't have any to turn to. The world seemed like a bleak and endless place as the helpless, friendless blonde girl made her way through the town streets, struggling to hold in her anguish. She had no one to turn to, and up to now, she'd never needed anyone. Her first thoughts drifted to Haruhi, but she didn't know the girl well enough to impose. Next, she imagined showing up on Tamaki's doorstep-

_Is it raining?_ Nanami asked herself disbelievingly, glancing up at the darkening sky that had obviously predicted her predicament.

_No,_ Nanami thought silently, accepting the rain, but still unsure whether or not to turn to Tamaki. _What would his family think if suddenly I show up soaking wet and unannounced? They'd think I was a customer... or, if I told them, "No, I'm not a customer, but I did meet your son three weeks ago and am now madly... or partially in love with him! _Nanami could imagine the fiasco.

Nanami's life had always been one of virtue and privilege, but now, with no where to go, the girl simply slumped down on a park bench and found herself sleeping away her troubles into the fading dusk.

Nanami had snuck into her own bedroom window the next evening, choosing to hide her presence and hope her parents were dying with worry. But of course, they had a party to attend to and guests to please, so their only child's suffering and dejection was the last thing on their minds.

"Nanami-chan?" Tamaki's crystalline voice seemed to penetrate the thick layers of gloom and hopelessness that Nanami had wrapped herself in.

"Tamaki I'm really glad you made it," the blonde girl whispered almost breathlessly. The host king however, picked up on her despair.

"What's wrong, oh she-who-has-stolen-my-heart-in-the-night?" Tamaki grasped the girl's hand in his own, holding it tightly and causing Nanami to blush profusely. Before Nanami even opened her mouth to speak however, Kazuya came bustling over, leaning on his thighs for support as though he'd been running strenuously.

N-Nanami-chan! We were so worried when you ran away yesterday-" Interrupting Kazuya abruptly, Tamaki looked frightened at Nanami.

"You ran away? When?"

"Last night! No one's seen her until now-"

"But my glorious song bird! Where did you sleep when the darkness of the world was closing in around you?" Tamaki covered his eyes with his arm in a sweeping, melodramatic gesture.

"Um, a p-park bench," she stuttered. As soon as she said it, however, she wished she hadn't. Tamaki, in one smooth swoop had embraced Nanami and spun her around, tilting her backwards so that her hair nearly dragged on the ground.

"A park bench is no place for my princess of hearts!" the host king declared, leaning forward and bowing his head shamefully against Nanami's angled shoulder. Thankfully, the party's major guests hadn't arrived, and no one except Kazuya witnessed the spectacle.

"Um, Tamaki? Would you mind if we went somewhere… a little more private? I don't like being in front of all these people-"

"Not until I've danced with my beautiful angel of music!" Tamaki explained, grasping Nanami's shaky hands and leading her onto an otherwise empty floor. Greedily enjoying the moment for all it was, Nanami leaned forward and rested her head on Tamaki's shoulder as the live orchestra played a Chopin waltz. The only other time Nanami'd found herself this close to a boy was that Sunday when she'd sat next to the Host King on the park bench and she'd given him her first kiss. The blonde girl sighed nostalgically before Tamaki was satisfied and acquiesced her request to go inside.

Nanami led Tamaki up the cool marble stair case and through a twisted maze of hallways until she reached a near empty room at the end of the East Wing. There, in the corner stood a lone piano, old, but well tuned and casting a tall shadow down the middle of the floor almost brimful with pale moonlight.

"You're full of surprises Nanami-chan," Tamaki observed, pulling off the dust cover from the baby grand and taking a seat on one end. Nanami blushed shyly and took a seat beside him, stretching her fingers before laying them down on the ivory keys.

After they were settled on separate ends of the keys, Tamaki asked offhandedly:

"That man at the party, who was he?"

"My piano teacher... I'm engaged to him," she squeaked out, hoping that if she made it sound unreal, then perhaps it would be so.

"I see." Was Tamaki's simple reply. Nanami felt like shattered stain glass: so many emotions like so many colors were running through her veins, and yet, the one that she was feeling all these things for... could hardly care less?

"Nanami-hime, I want to-"

"I like you. A lot."

Before she'd even had time to process her thoughts, the blonde girl had blurted those three fatal words out without thinking. Her face flushed and she stared into her lap, hoping that maybe Tamaki didn't hear her.

"That's good I suppose. I like you too."

Nanami felt as though a well inside her had burst free, and not realizing she'd been holding her breath, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Haruhi and I... we're just friends, and I hope you can be friends too," the Host King relayed, much to Nanami's gratefulness.

"I'm glad! I-I mean, um... maybe we could, I don't know, do something tomorrow?"

"Anything for my muse," the host king battered his abnormally graceful eyelashes before turning to the piano and laying his long slender fingers over top of Nanami's. Leaning towards her in the moonlight, Tamaki captured the girl's lips briefly before beginning to play.

_Him and his flattery,_ Nanami sighed, taking up the treble clef of the piece Tamaki had begun and creating her own line.

_So what if my parents planned my life for me? I love the piano... but now, I'm going to start my own melody, my own song... and no one's going to tell me how to write it. _

After a suitable _fine_ of the piece, Nanami leaned her head cautiously toward Tamaki's shoulder, resting it their casually and hoping he accepted her place beside him. After a moment, when time seemed to stand still and Nanami felt her heart open and spread it's own wings, the music dimmed and the ivory, moonlit curtain closed on the final performance; signaling the end of her old life, and the beginning of a new and brighter symphony.


End file.
